“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.” (Psalms 42:5 NKJV)
The depth of despair is the most dangerous place in this life. No one commits suicide until they have been driven into the depths of sadness or hopelessness.
The devil always seeks to employ and exploit every tragedy, tribulation, persecution, or adversity you may experience to drive you into the depths of hopelessness, where you will quickly detest life and give up on God.
When Jezebel drove Prophet Elijah into the depths of despair, he hated life and “prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” (1 Kings 19:4 NKJV).
When you allow the devil to drive you into despair, nothing other than death will become attractive or appealing to you!
Many heinous crimes we witness in our society today are perpetrated by men living in the depths of despair and who have reached a point where they don’t care anymore about anyone or anything.
Therefore, you must know how to resist the devil from pushing or driving you into despair or hopelessness. The devil can employ and manipulate anything or anyone to send you into the depths of despair.
The devil may use things such as the sudden death of your loved ones, divorce, betrayal, loss of job, failure in exams or interviews, disappointment, delay in marriage or childbearing, or a crisis in marriage, business, or ministry to drive you to a point where you don’t see or expect anything good in life anymore.
The devil is a sadist who obtains or derives great pleasure from seeing people sorrowful, depressed, and discouraged as they focus and meditate upon the gloomy pictures of their present situation or the future he has painted before them.
You resist the devil from driving or pushing you into the depths of despair and dismay by choosing not to focus on the gloomy picture of your present situation or the future the devil has painted before you but instead on God’s great and precious promises for you concerning your current situation and glorious future (Jer. 29:11).
The Scripture is replete with accounts of many saints who refused to give up their faith and hope in God, even in seemingly hopeless situations.
Abraham was very old, and his wife Sarah had passed the age of childbearing, yet “contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” (Rom. 4:18 NKJV).
Like Abraham, if you refuse to give up on God’s great and precious promises concerning your life, family, marriage, career, ministry, or business, they will surely come to pass at God’s set time (Rom. 15:4).
Hope is the steadfast, quiet, and joyful expectation of fulfilling God’s promises. It is waiting patiently but assuredly and excitedly for the physical manifestation of the blessings in Christ Jesus, which you have claimed, possessed, or received by faith.
Like Abraham, while waiting for the fulfillment or the physical manifestation of God’s promises, you must never allow the devil to drive you into hopelessness by fixing your eyes on the negative things.
That is why the Scripture encourages you not to look at “the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:18 NKJV).
While Abraham was waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promise, the devil could not drive him into the depths of despair and dismay because he chose not to “consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God.” (Rom. 4:18-20 NKJV).
No matter how seemingly hopeless any situation you face in life, like Abraham, don’t lose hope or allow the devil to drive you into despair and dismay by deceiving you into focusing and meditating upon the limitations, difficulties, or impossibilities you see in the natural realm.
Paul warns, “To be earthly-minded means Death, to be spiritually minded means Life and Peace.” (Rom. 8:6 TCNT).
The born-again believers are begotten to a living hope of an imperishable, undefiled, and unfading inheritance reserved in heaven.
The Scripture attests to this truth.
1 Peter 1:3-4 – NKJV
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.
That is why the Scripture says you should focus on things above, not on things on the earth (Col. 3:2).
As a believer in Christ, you are not without hope, notwithstanding your present situation (1 Thess. 4:13).
God has given you an “everlasting consolation and good hope by grace.” (2 Thess. 2:16 NKJV).
This hope is Jesus Christ!
This is why the Scripture states that Christ in you is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27). This hope is an anchor for your soul as you sail through the storms of this life (Heb. 6:18-19). It is the divine antidote against despair in life!
Beloved, are you presently in a seemingly hopeless situation?
Don’t listen to the devil’s lies!
Refuse to allow your soul to be cast down, depressed, restless, anxious, sad, or discouraged by focusing or fixating your mind or attention on what the devil is saying or showing to you through his agents, your dreams, your present unpleasant situation, or your prevailing circumstance in the natural.
Like the Psalmist, when you find yourself in any seemingly hopeless situation, set your mind on God’s promises and preach to your soul, saying, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.” (Psa. 42:5 NKJV).
Hope in God is an effective antidote against depression, sadness, or discouragement. Therefore, always encourage your soul to hope in God regardless of circumstances.
Friend, arise today and shake off the dust of failure, rejection, pity, or disappointment!
God loves you and will never give up on you. God’s thoughts toward you are “thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer. 29:11 NKJV).
Your best is yet to come. Greater and better things still lie ahead of you. You have every reason to rejoice and be excited in Christ.
All the promises that God has given you will still come to pass, for God cannot lie. Therefore, hold on to the hope before you (Heb. 6:18).
Don’t ever lose hope in God, thereby giving into despair!
The Scripture encourages you to “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” (Psa. 31:24 NKJV).
My friend, “hope in the LORD from this time forth and forever.” (Psa. 131:3 NKJV).
Prayer: My Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for begotten me to a good and living hope in Christ. Dear Holy Spirit, strengthen me daily as I wait quietly, patiently, and excitedly for the fulfillment of God’s promises concerning my life, family, career, business, and ministry, in Jesus’ name. Amen.